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SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS 



REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING 



Commandery of State of Michigan 



MILITARY ORDER 
LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Detroit, March 3d. 
1892. 



Gift 
Author 

r8JI'05 



Supplementary proceebinos. 



Detroit, March 3, 1892. 

After the regnhir business of the meeting of the Command- 
ery had been disposed of, the comx)anions adjourned to the 
banquet hall, where a bounteous spread had been prepared. 

After the feast came the fun. Companion Poe was recently 
a member of a general court-martial, at Cleveland, and while 
there one of the papers published a wood- cut, i:»urporting to 
be a likeness of him. 

When the pax^er containing the cut was received in Detroit, 
it was decided by some of the companions to have a little fun 
out of it. 

The small newspaper cut was p)asted in the center of a card- 
board 22 X 28 inches, which was artistically embellished in 
colors, with the emblems of the order, and nicely framed. 

The "portrait" was presented to Companion Poe in the 
following address: 



PRESENTATION SPEECH 
BY COMPANION CHARLES E. FOOTE. 



Mr. Commander and Companions: 

There sits at this table one of our members who in a very 
large degree commands the admiration and the deep regard 
of this Commandery, one who o'ertops most men in his 
ability as a soldier as he does in physical stature; one who 



in the fierce onslaught of battle and the varied and trying 
exigencies of life, has proven himself nnllinching in duty, a 
patriot and a man. 

It is upon you, Gen. Poe, that this Commandery gladly 
places this high estimate. 

In our neighboring forest city, which sits a gem on the 
southern shore of Lake Erie, you have recently passed 
through a trying campaign, and through the trials connected 
therewith you have had the symjDathy of this Commandery. 

That sympathy was deepened when Col. White, one Satur- 
day evening submitted to a few of the companions, who were 
jmrtaking of a dry lunch in the armory cafe, your picture, 
taken on the spot by a special artist detailed for that special 
purpose by the Penny Press of Cleveland. As it was held 
before our bewildered gaze, surrounded by dark lines of 
tyx)e, it stood out on the white paper in bold relief, a startling 
spectre. Col. Sterling, with a short gurgling sound, closed~~ 
his eyes and sunk back into his chair. Capt. Dupont smiled 
ghastly. Gen. Swift, with that speed his name implies, 
retreated. Companion Chamberlain smiled a quiet, uneasy 
smile. All others went under the table, except our worthy 
Commander Pittman, who, feeling the responsibility of his 
office, with undaunted front stood his ground and brought 
about order again. We knew it to be a picture of you 
because your name is plainly written under it. 

You may not think it quite perfect; you may not have a 
friend who will recognize the picture as one of yourself. 
Every member of your household may repudiate it, and yet 
as indisputable proof of its genuineness, there stands by 
direction of that special artist in plain, unmistakable type 
the name of Gen. Poe, E. C. To be sure there hangs about it 
a wearied look not your own; there is a sad-eyed expression 
to the spectacles, behind which the special artist had not 



time to put the eyes, which we do not recognize (yon may 
have been asleep, in which case we forgive the artist the eyes), 
the firm set jaAv, that is evidently hard clinched upon some 
hard fact, lacks the kindly exj)ression to which we are 
accustomed, and yet we recognize the picture by help of the 
printed name. 

The artist, he being a special artist, must have been correct 
in his rex)resentation. We believed the trial through which 
you were then passing to be responsible for that unwonted 
look of sternness; for that relentless jaw, that generally 
dejected, sad and vacant expression, and believing that the 
like has never occured before and never could occur again, 
some one proposed the jDicture be mounted and jiresented to 
you, in order that a new phase of your history, and that a 
face new to mankind be not utterly lost to the world. 

I do not venture to pronounce the name of him who had the 
hardihood to propose this iniquity. Let his name be forever 
unknown; let no temptation, no desire for revenge induce 
you to hunt him out, that your descendants when they "point 
with pride ' ' to the gallant record of Gen. Poe, may not point 
the finger of scorn at the memory of this man. Rather let 
whatever of discredit, whatever of shame there be, if there 
be any, rest with the special artist, whom nobody knows and 
whom nobody cares to know. 

I have the honor, Gen. Poe, to present to you on behalf of 
the Michigan Commandery of the Loyal Legion of the U. S. 
this unique token of affection, accompanied with the earnest 
hope that if you ever did look like that you may never look 
so acrain. 



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Companion Poe accepted the "Portrait" in a few well 
chosen remarks, closin<^- his address with the following: 

I. 

Some cussed, measly Legioneers, 
Quite filled up with numerous beers, 
Betliougbt themselves 'twould be great fuu 
To " set up a job " on a " son of a gun." 

II. 
They ransacked the place where their brains should be, 
In quest of a thing he called an "idea"; 
"Aha!" shouted one, "I've got it, I guess," 
"V\e'll give him a portrait cut from the Preis. 

III. 
They polished it up and they rubbed it down, 
'Till nothing was like it in all the town, 
Then brought it here as a specimen brick 
To throw at a man who doesn't " kick." 

IV. 

It might be worshiped without any sin. 
For it images nothing the Heavens in. 
Nor the earth beneath, nor the waters below. 
Nor that nether depth where the fires glow. 

V. 

It's rather hard that a warrior bold, 

Should be pictured thus so hoary and old ; 

I therefore trust you will ' ' set on Foote " 

A search for the chaps who went on the " toot." 



<> 



/ 



ON THE 
PRESENTATION OF A PORTRAIT OF O. M. POE. 

The Michigan Commandery. 



By Companion William Ludlow. 



Commander grave, and Brethern brave, 

Lend ear unto my woe : 
As a ditty I sing, and the praises ring, 

Of Orlando Metcalfe Poe. 

A man of great renown is he, 

Of stature great also ; 
For a giant's bed doth rest the head, 
And take the strain of the massive brain, 

And eke of the legs of Poe. 

At West Point he took high degree, 

Full six feet high or so ; 
Nor less than eight if we calculate 

The spread from heel to toe. 

From '52 until '56 

He learned to fight the foe ; 
To shoulder and carry, to thriis^t and parry 
Bayonets fix, and such warlike tricks, 

Did the youth from Ohio. 

Accomplished then in the arts of men. 

He came to Detroit to show 
How to cover the lakes with survey slakes, 
And cleverly land on the solid strand, 

If the winds began to blow. 



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When the war broke out his valorous shout 

Astonished the Southern foe ; 
And tlie flash of his glance made the rebels prance, 
As the Twoolh Michigan led the patriot van, 

Under Colonel Orlando Poe. 

At Yorktov^rn he did manf ullee ; 

At Williamsburg also ; 
Virginia was spread with the hostile dead ; 
Fair Oaks and Manassas were but cakes and molasses, 

To Brigadier-General Poe. 

Then westward he hied and at Sherman's side 

Taught the Johnnies back to go. 
Massing the ranks on their tender flanks, 
And with mighty thwacks on the stubborn backs 

Of Johnston, Hood and Co. 

The March to the Sea was carefuUee 

Mapped out by our Hero ; 
Where potatoes sweet entangled the feet, 
And sorghum and bacon could best be taken ; 

And much of it cached by Poe. 

Savannah was won and the tramp begun 

Through the Carolinas low ; 
But he shinned up the trees with the greatest ease, 
And mixed "red-eye" with the waters high ; 

Which saved the life of Poe. 

When Robt. E. Lee and Confederacee 

Had met their overthrow, 
At the great review of the Patriot crew, 
The Bummer's Parade of their festive trade 

Was headed by O. M. Poe. 

The War was done and Freedom's sun 

Shone out with spotless glow ; 
And its brightest ray illumined the way, 
And burnished the head and the martial tread 

Of the Engineer-Soldier Poe. 



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The Ship of State in splendor great 

Was cruising to and fro ; 
But was loath to sail with the favoring gale, 
And backed and filled in hands unskilled, 

Till on her deck stood Poe. 

The Lighthouse Board with a wonderful hoard 

Of lenses and lamps and so, 
Made its valiant boast to illumine the coast 
From the Bay of Fundee to the Mississippee ; 

And the boss of the job was Poe. 

At Sherman's tight hand he studied the land 

From Maine to Mexico ; 
And the eagles that flew 'neath the arching blue 
Made their royal nest and returned to rest. 

On the shoulder straps of Poe. 

Again to Detroit, for new exploit, 

When duty bade him go, 
To open the gate's through the narrow Straits, 
And build the locks of the big stone box, 

To navigate the Sault. 

The Legion strong, a rubicund throng, 

Adorned with beards of snow, 
As of old turned out with a mighty shout. 
And hearkened again like soldier-men 

To ihe voice of Commander Foe. 

Long may we greet, in the house and street. 

Our Brave Companion Poe ; 
There's never a man, in Michigan, 
Whose health we'll drink with readier clink 

Than our " own and only " Poe. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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